Kaziranga documentary row: BBC banned from tiger reserves across India for 5 years

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the governing body for all tiger reserves in the country, has imposed a five-year ban on the BBC and its journalist Justin Rowlatt over its documentary questioning India's measures to protect rhinos at the Kaziranga national park in Assam.

Titled ‘One World: Killing for Conservation', the documentary by BBC's South Asia correspondent Justin Rowlatt delved into Kaziranga's rhino conservation methods, alleging that the authorities had given forest guards powers to shoot anyone whom they suspected of being a threat to rhinos.

The documentary came in for sharp criticism from the Union Environment ministry which labelled the reportage as being "grossly erroneous".

In a memorandum issued on Monday evening, NTCA said BBC had failed to submit the documentary to MoEFCC and Ministry of External Affairs for obligatory previewing "in order to remove any deviations, so as to achieve a balanced and accurate exposition of the theme".

It further asked chief wildlife wardens of all tiger range states and field directors of tiger reserves to disallow filming permission to BBC for five years.